^^^ 


GIFT  OF 


^^-^. 


"^imm^ 


:^« 


^SS: 


lUfilk  j^r-att.:^-  "'i£: 


N  exac  mile  (except  that  a  prefatory  note  has 

been  added  facing  the  title  page)  of   the   rare   and 
famous  h'rsf  editum  o  f 


This  is  an  exact  reproduction  in  every  detail  of  the  edttto  priitceps  as 
issued  in  size  and  even  t-  -        'hat  the  leaves  are  slightly  wider 

than  the  cover. 

W,The  original  cuitiuu,  ui.  wuicii  tiiir>  la  ci  icpx^ju action,  wab  iJiiiiit^ii 
under  FitzGerald's  own  supervision  and  shows  all  of  his  peculiar  ideas 
and  inconsistencies  in  the  use  of  capitals,  italics,  accents,  punctuation 
itid  spelling.  In  this  form  it  first  delighted  those  knights  of  the 
literary  Round  Table,  Thackeray,  Carlyle,  Tennyson,  Burton,  Rossetti 
and  Swinburne,  and  in  this  form  should, prove  attractive  to  readers  of 
discriminating  tastes. 


^f^^^ 


RUBAIYAT 


OF 


OMAK    KHAYYAM, 


THE  ASTRONOMER.POET  OF  PERSIA. 


CvaiislIatctJ  into  d^ix^li^})  Wtvit, 


LONDON; 

BERNAED   QUABITCH, 

CASTLE  STEEET,  LEICESTER  SQUARE. 

1859. 


My  Dear  Sir: 

As  you  know,  the  writer  and  Mr. 
Eben  Francis  Thompson,  who  preceded  him  as 
President  of  the  Massachusetts  Society  Sons  of 
the  Revolution,  have  been  interested  for  a  long 
time  in  Oriental  studies  and  particularly  in  the 
literature  pertaining  to  Khayyam.  Mr.  Thompson 
is,  as  you  know,  the  translator  of  Omar,  his  com- 
plete translation  being  the  first  and  only  English 
translation.  We  have  cooperated  lately  in  pub- 
lishing a  facsimile  of  the  rare  and  famous  first 
edition  of  Fitzgerald's  Rub^iydt  of  Omar  Khay- 
ydm,  today  the  most  widely  quoted  and  printed 
English  poem.  This  curious  volume  was  printed 
under  Fitzgerald's  own  supervision.  I  take  much 
pleasure  in  sending  you  a  copy  of  the  facsimile 
with  our  compliments. 

As  Past  Presidents  of  our  Society 
we  desire  to  have  you  share,  in  some  slight  meas- 
ure, in  the  fruits  of  a  "labor  of  love"  in  another 
Society.  We  rejoice,  with  you,  that  the  "Sons 
of  the  Revolution"  has  grown  so  strong,  brave, 
and  vigorous,  and  has  become  so  potent  a  force  in 
the  community  in  the  promotion  of  patriotism  and 
love  of  country. 

With  cordial  regard, 

Charles  Dana  Burrage. 

Needham^  August,  1912, 

243821 


Facsimile  of  the  First  Edition  of  FitzGerald' s 
Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam 


One  Spring  day  in  1856  Edward  B.  Cowell  discovered  in 
the  Bodleian  library  at  Oxford  a  manuscript  containing  158 
quatrains  of  Omar  Khayyam  which  he  transcribed  and  sent  to 
his  friend  and  pupil  Edward  FitzGerald.  Later  Cowell  sent 
him  from  India  a  transcript  of  the  so-called  Calcutta  manu- 
script. In  1857  FitzGerald  completed  his  first  draft  of  the  poem 
and  in  January,  1858,  sent  it  to  Eraser's  Magazine.  After  rnany 
months,  in  January,  1859,  FitzGerald  recovered  his  neglected 
manuscript  and  made  a  re-draft  of  the  poem,  which  he  printed 
privately  in  an  edition  of  250  copies,  most  of  which  he  gave 
to  Quaritch,  who  had  ill  success  in  disposing  of  them,  and 
the  remainder  were  sold  from  a  clearance  box  at  a  penny 
each. 

Since  the  appearance  of  this  modest  book  more  than  two 
million  copies  have  been  sold  in  over  two  hundred  editions, 
and  it  has  been  translated  into  almost  all  the  tongues  of 
modern  Europe,  as  well  as  into  Greek  and  Latin. 

A  soiled  and  penciled  copy  of  the  rare  original  would 
readily  bring  $300,  while  an  uncut  copy  is  priceless. 

This  facsimile  is  made  from  the  fine  copy  owned  by 
Charles  Dana  Burrage,  to  whose  interest  and  courtesy 
Omarians  owe  so  much. 


RUBAIYAT 


OF 


OMAR    KHAYYAM, 


THE  ASTRONOMER.POET  OF  PERSIA. 


Cvausllatctt  into  ((BixQiii})  Wtvit, 


LONDON: 

BEBNARD   QUARITCH, 

CASTLE  STREET,  LEICESTER  SQUARE. 

1859. 


O.  NOEMAN.  TBINTrB,  MAIDEN  lANE,  COVENT  GARDEN,   LONDON. 


THL  OMAR  KHAYYAM  5LR1L5 


LBLN  FRANCI5  THOMPSON'S  COMPLLTL  MLTRICAL  TRANS- 
LATION OF  THL  QUATRAINS  OF  OMAR  KHAYYAM 

dealing  with  more  than  1,150  quatrains.  The  most  valuable 
and  authoritative  contribution  to  the  subject  This  colossal 
work  has  been  pronounced  by  high  authority  as  a  master- 
piece of  translation. 

CLContaining  many  new  and  striking  quatrains  now  trans- 
lated into  Lnglish  verse  for  the  first  time. 

CLRoyal  octavo,  limited  edition  in  Japan  paper,  85  numbered 
copies  first  edition,  nearly  sold  out,  net  $15.00. 

CLln  Old  Stratford  paper,  limited  first  edition  350  copies, 
net  $5.00. 

CLUniform  with  the  above,  Thompsons  Behtarin  (Persian, 
best)  edition  of  FitzGerald  s  Rubaiyat  of  Omar  Khayyam,  an 
intimate  study,  with  a  Persian  text  in  Nasta*  lik  and  Roman 
letter,  a  close  line  for  line  translation  and  a  close  verse  trans- 
lation of  the  corresponding  quatrains,  with  a  new  portrait 
study  of  Ldward  FitzGerald  by  5.  A.  Kinsley. 

CLIn  purple  and  gold  upon  Japan  paper,  net  $  1 0.    ( 

Ct.  In  black  and  red  upon  Old  Stratford  paper,  net  $5.00. 
Nearly  sold  out 

CLThe  Centenary  edition  of  FitzGerald  s  Rubaiyat  of  Omar 
Khayyam,  being  an  exact  facsimile  of  the  famous  first  edition^ 
250  numbered  copies  upon  a  Japan  paper  selected  by  reason 
of  its  close  resemblance  to  the  paper  used  in  the  rare  original, 
net  $5.00.     In  handsome  wrappers.  * 

dJubilee  edition,  $1.00. 


ANY    OF    THL   ABOVL   5LNT    PRE.PAID    ON    RLCLIPT   OF  PRICE 

THL  COMMONWLALTH  PRLSS,      ::      Worcester,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 


OMAR  KHAYYAM, 


THE 


ASTEONOMER-POET  OF  PERSIA. 


Omar  Kiiayyam  was  born  at  Naishapur  in  Khorassaa 
in  the  latter  half  of  our  Eleventh,  and  died  -within  the  First 
Quarter  of  our  Twelfth,  Century.  The  slender  Story  of  his 
Life  is  curiously  twined  about  that  of  two  others  very  consi- 
derable Figures  in  their  Time  and  Country  :  one  of  them, 
Hasan  al  Sabbdh,  whose  very  Name  has  lengthen'd  down  to 
us  as  a  terrible  Synonym  for  Murder :  and  the  other  (who 
also  tells  the  Story  of  all  Three)  Nizam  al  Mulk,  Vizyr  to 
Alp  the  Lion  and  Malik  Shah,  Son  and  Grandson  of  Tog- 
hrul  Beg  the  Tartar,  who  had  wrested  Persia  from  the  fee- 
ble Successor  of  Mahmiid  the  Great,  and  founded  that  Sel- 
jukian  Dynasty  which  finally  roused  Europe  into  the  Cru- 
sades. This  Nizam  al  Mulk,  in  his  Wasyat — or  Testament 
— which  he  wrote  and  left  as  a  Memorial  for  future  States- 
men— relates  the  following,  as  quoted  in  the  Calcutta  Keview, 
No.  59,  from  Mirkhond's  History  of  the  Assassins. 

A  2 


OMA.R    KHAYYAM, 


"  *  One  of  the  greatest  of  tbe  wise  men  of  Khorassan  was 

*  the  Imam  Movvaflfak  of  Naishapur,  a  man  highly  honoured 

*  and  reverenced, — may  God  rejoice  his  soul;  his  illustrious 

*  years  exceeded  eighty-five,  and  it  was  the  universal  beliet 

*  that  every  boy  who  read  the  Koran  or  studied  the  tradi- 

*  tions  in  his  presence,  would  assuredly  attain  to  honour  and 

*  happiness.     For   this  cause  did  my  father  send  me  from 

*  Tus  to  Naishapur  with  Abd-u-samad,  the  doctor  of  law, 

*  that  I  might  employ  myself  in  study  and  learning  under 
'  the  guidance  of  that  illustrious  teacher.  Towards  me  he 
'  ever  turned  an  eye  of  favour  and  kindness,  and  as  his  pupil 
'  I  felt  for  him  extreme  affection  and  devotion,  so  that  I 
'  passed  four  years  in  his  service.    When  I  first  came  there, 

*  I  found  two  other  pupils  of  mine  own  age  newly  arrived, 

*  Hakim    Omar  Khayyam,  and  the  ill-fated  Ben   Sabbah. 

*  Both  were  endowed  with  sharpness  of  wit  and  the  highest 

*  natural  powers ;  and  we  three  formed  a  close  friendship 

*  together.  When  the  Imam  rose  from  his  lectures,  they 
'  used  to  join  me,  and  we  repeated  to  each  other  the  lessons 

*  we  had  heard.  Now  Omar  was  a  native  of  Naishapur, 
'  while  Hasan  Ben  Sabbah's  father  was  one  Ali,  a  man  of 

*  austere  life  and  practice,  but  heretical  in  his  creed  and 

*  doctrine.   One  day  Hasan  said  to  me  and  to  Khayyam,  *  It 

*  is  a  universal  belief  that  the  pupils  of  the  Imam  Mowaffak 

*  will  attain  to  fortune.  Now,  even  if  we  all  do  not  attain 
'  thereto,  without  doubt  one  of  us  will;  what  then  shall  be 

*  our  mutual  pledge  and  bond  V     We  answered  *  Be  it 

*  what  you  please.'     *  Well,'  he  said,  *  let  us  make  a  vow, 

*  that  to  whomsoever  this  fortune  falls,   he  shall  share  it 

*  equally  with  the  rest,  and  reserve  no  pre-eminence  for  him- 


THE   ASTEONOMER-POET   OF   PERSIA.  V 

*  self/    '  Be  it  so/  we  both  replied,  and  on  these  terms  we 

*  mutually  pledged  our  words.     Tears  rolled  on,  and  I  went 

*  from  Khorassan  to  Transoxiana,  and  wandered  to  Ghazni 

*  and  Cabul;  and  when  I  returned,  I  was  invested  with 

*  office,  and  rose  to  be  administrator  of  affairs  during  the 

*  Sultanate  of  Sultan  Alp  Arslan/  '* 

"  He  goes  on  to  state,  that  years  passed  by,  and  both  his 
old  school-friends  found  him  out,  and  came  and  claimed  a 
share  in  his  good  fortune,  according  to  the  school-day  vow. 
The  Vizier  was  generous  and  kept  his  word.  Hasan  de- 
manded a  place  in  the  government,  which  the  Sultan  granted 
at  the  Vizier's  request ;  but  discontented  with  a  gradual 
rise,  he  plunged  into  the  maze  of  intrigue  of  an  oriental 
court,  and,  failing  in  a  base  attempt  to  supplant  his  bene- 
factor, he  was  disgraced  and  fell.  After  many  mishaps  and 
wanderings,  Hasan  became  the  head  of  the  Persian  sect  of 
the  Ismailians, — a  party  of  fanatics  who  had  long  murmured 
in  obscurity,  but  rose  to  an  evil  eminence  under  the  guidance 
of  his  strong  and  evil  will.  In  A.  B.  1090,  he  seized  the 
castle  of  Alamut,  in  the  proviuceof  Eudbar,  which  lies  in 
the  mountainous  tract,  south  of  the  Caspian  sea  ;  and  it  was 
from  this  mountain  home  he  obtained  that  evil  celebrity 
among  the  Crusaders  as  the  OLD  MAN  OF  THE  MOUN- 
TAINS, and  sj)read  terror  through  the  Mohammedan  world; 
and  it  is  yet  disputed  whether  the  word  Assassin,  which 
they  have  left  in  the  language  of  modern  Europe  as  their 
dark  memorial,  is  derived  from  the  hashish,  or  opiate  of 
hemp-leaves  (the  Indian  hhang^  with  which  they  maddened 
themselves  to  the  sullen  pitch  of  oriental  desperation,  or  from 
the  name  of  the  founder  of  the  dynasty,  whom  wc  have  seen 


VI  OMAE    KHAYYAM, 

in  his  quiet  collegiate  days,  at  Naishapur.  One  of  the  count- 
less victims  of  the  Assassin's  dagger  was  Nizam-ul-Mulk 
himself,  the  old  school-boy  friend." 

"  Omar  Khayyam  also  came  to  the  Vizier  to  claim  his 
share ;  but  not  to  ask  for  title  or  office.     *  The  greatest  boon 

*  you  can  confer  on  me,'  he  said,  '  is  to  let  me  live  in  a 

*  corner  under  the  shadow  of  your  fortune,  to  spread  wide 
'  the  advantages  of  Science,  and  pray  for  your  long  life  and 

*  prosperity.'  The  Vizier  tells  us,  that,  when  he  found 
Omar  was  really  sincere  in  his  refusal,  he  pressed  him  no 
further,  but  granted  him  a  yearly  pension  of  1,200  mitJiMls 
of  gold,  from  the  treasury  of  JN'aishapur." 

**  At  Naishapur  thus  lived  and  died  Omar  Khayyam, 
Vbusied,'  adds  the  Vizier,  *  in  winning  knowledge  of  every 

*  kind,  and  especially  in  Astronomy,  wherein  he  attained  to  a 

*  very  high  pre-eminence.     Under  the   Sultanate  of  Malik 

*  Shah,  he  came  to  Merv,  and  obtained  great  praise   for  his 

*  proficiency  in  science,  and  the  Sultan  showered  favours 

*  upon  him.'  " 

"  When  Malik  Shah  determined  to  reform  the  calendar, 
Omar  was  one  of  the  eight  learned  men  employed  to  do  it ; 
the  result  was  the  JaldU  era,  (so  called  from  Jalal-ul-dvrij 
one  of  the  king's  names,) — 'a  computation  of  time,'  says 
Gibbon,  '  which  surpasses  the  Julian,  and  approaches  the 

*  accuracy  of  the  Gregorian  style.'  He  is  also  the  author 
of  some  astronomical  tables,  entitled  Ziji-Malikshahi,"  and 
the  French  have  lately  republished  and  translated  an  Arabic 
Treatise  of  his  on  Algebra. 

These  severer  Studies,  and  his  Verses,  which,  though  hap- 
pily fewer  than  any  Persian  Poet's,  and,  though  perhaps 


THE    ASTEONOMEE-POET   OF    PEBSIA.  vii 

fugitively  composed,  the  Eesult  of  no  fugitive  Emotion  or 
Thought,  are  probably  the  AVork  and  Event  of  his  Life, 
leaving  little  else  to  record.  Perhaps  he  liked  a  little  Farm- 
ing too,  so  often  as  he  speaks  of  the  "  Edge  of  the  Tilth" 
on  which  he  loved  to  rest  with  his  Diwan  of  Verse,  his  Loaf 
— and  his  Wine. 

"  His  Takhallus  or  poetical  name  (Khayyam)  signifies  a 
Tent-maker,  and  he  is  said  to  have  at  one  time  exercised 
that  trade,  perhaps  before  Nizam-nl-Mulk's  generosity  raised 
him  to  independence.  Many  Persian  poets  similarly  derive 
their  names  from  their  occupations  ;  thus  we  have  Attar,  "  a 
druggist,"  Assar,  "  an  oil  presser,"  &c.  (Though  all  these, 
like  our  Smiths,  Archers,  Millers,  Fletchers,  &c.  may  simply 
retain  the  Sirname  of  an  hereditary  calling.)  **  Omar  him- 
self alludes  to  his  name  in  the  following  whimsical  lines  : — 

*  Khayyam,  who  stitched  the  tents  of  science, 
Has  fallen  in  griefs  furnace  and  been  suddenly  burned  ; 
The  shears  of  Fate  have  cut  the  tent  ropes  of  his  life, 
And  the  broker  of  Hope  has  sold  him  for  nothing  I' 

"  We  have  only  one  more  anecdote  to  give  of  his  Life,  and 
that  relates  to  the  close ;  related  in  the  anonymous  preface 
which  is  sometimes  prefixed  to  his  poems  ;  it  has  been  printed 
in  the  Persian  in  the  appendix  to  Hyde's  Veterum  Tersarvm 
JReUgio,  p.  499  ;  and  D'Herbelot  alludes  to  it  in  his  Biblio- 
theque,  under  Khiam  : — * 

*  Though  he  attributes  the  story  to  a  Ivhiam,  "  Philosophe  Musulmaa 
qui  avecu  en  Odeur  de  Saintete  dans  la  Fin  du  premier  et  le  Commence- 
ment du  second  Siecle,"  no  part  of  which,  except  the  "  Philosophe,"  can 
apply  to  our  Khayyam,  who,  however,  may  claim  the  Story  as  /m,  on  the 


Viii  OMAR   KHAYYAM, 

'  It  is  written  in  the  chronicles  of  the  ancients  that  this 

*  King  of  the  "Wise,  Omar  Khayyam,  died  at  Naishapur  in 
'  the  year  of  the  Hegira,  517  ( A»D.  1123)  ;  in  science  he  was 

*  unrivalled,— the  very  paragon  of  his  age,  Khwajah  Nizarai 

*  of  Samarcand,  who  was  one  of  his  pupils,  relates  the  follow- 

*  ing  story :  '  I  often  used  to  hold  conversations  with  my 

*  teacher,  Omar  Khayyam,  in  a  garden  ;  and  one  day  he  said 

*  to  me,  *  my  tomb  shall  be  in  a  spot,  where  the  north  wind 

*  may  scatter  roses  over  it.*     I  wondered  at  the  words  he 

*  spake,  but  I  knew  that  his  were  no  idle  words.  Tears  after, 

*  when  I  chanced  to  revisit  Naishdpur,  I  went  to  his  final 

*  resting  place,  and  lo !  it  was  just  outside  a  garden,  and  trees 

*  laden  with  fruit  stretched  their  boughs  over  the  garden 

*  w^all,  and  dropped  their  flowers  upon  his  tomb,  so  as  the 

*  stone  was  hidden  under  them.'  " 

Thus  far — without  fear  of  Trespass — from  the  Calcutta 
Eeview. 

Though  the  Sultan"  shower' d  Favours  upon  him,"  Omar's 
Epicurean  Audacity  of  Thought  and  Speech  caused  him  to 
be  regarded  askance  in  his  own  Time  and  Country.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  especially  hated  and  dreaded  by  the  Sufis, 
"whose  Practice  he  ridiculed,  and  whose  Faith  amounts  to 
little  more  than  his  own  when  stript  of  the  Mysticism  and 
formal  Compliment  to  Islamism  which  Omar  would  not 
hide  under.     Their  Poets,  including  Hafiz,  who  are  (with 

Score  of  Rubaiyat,  77  and  78  of  the  present  Version.  The  Eashness 
of  the  "Words,  according  to  'D'Herbelot,  consisted  in  being  so  op- 
posed to  those  in  the  Koran:  "No  Man  knows  where  he  shall 
die.' 


THE    ASTRON'OWER-POET   OF    PERSIA.  IS 

the  exception  of  Firdusi)  the  most  considerable  m  Persia, 
borrowed  largely,  indeed,  of  Omar's  material,  but  turoing 
it  to  a  mystical  Use  more  convenient  to  Themselves 
and  the  People  they  address'd ;  a  People  quite  as  quiok 
of  Doubt  as  of  Belief;  quite  as  keen  of  the  Bodily  Senses  as 
of  the  Intellectual;  and  delighting  in  a  cloudy  Element  com- 
pounded of  all,  in  which  they  could  float  luxuriously  between 
Heaven  and  Earth,  and  this  World  and  the  Next,  on  the  wings 
of  a  poetical  expression,  that  could  be  recited  indifferently 
whether  at  the  Mosque  or  the  Tavern.  Omar  was  too 
honest  of  Heart  as  well  as  of  Head  for  this.  Having  failed 
(however  mistakenly)  of  finding  any  Providence  but  Destiny, 
and  any  World  but  This,  he  set  about  making  the  most  of  it ; 
preferring  rather  to  soothe  the  Soul  through  the  Senses  into  J 
Acquiescence  with  Things  as  they  were,  than  to  perplex  it  | 
with  vain  mortifications  after  what  thej  might  he.  It  has  ' 
been  seen  that  his  Worldly  Desires,  however,  were  not  exor- 
bitant ;  and  he  very  likely  takes  a  humourous  pleasure  in 
exaggerating  them  above  that  Intellect  in  whose  exercise  he 
must  have  found  great  pleasure,  though  not  in  a  Theological 
direction.  However  this  may  be,  his  Worldly  Pleasures  are 
what  they  profess  to  be  without  any  Pretence  at  divine  Alle. 
gory:  his  Wine  is  the  veritable  Juice  of  the  Grape  :  his 
Tavern,. where  it  was  to  be  had:  his  Saki,  the  Flesh  and 
Blood. that  poured  it  out  for  him  :  all  which,  and  where  the 
Roses  were  in  Bloom,  was  all  he  profess'd  to  "want  of  this 
World  or  to  expect  of  Paradise. 

The  Mathematic  Faculty,  too,  which  regulated  his  Fansy, 
and  condensed  his  Verse  to  a  Quality  and  Quantity  un- 
known   in    Persian,    perhaps   in   Oriental,    Poetry,   hclpM 


X  OMAR    KHAYYAM, 

by  its  very  virtue  perhaps  to  render  him  less  popular  with 
his  countrymen.  If  the  Greeks  were  Children  in  Gossip, 
what  does  Persian  Literature  imply  but  a  Second  CJiildisliness 
of  Garrulity  ?  And  certainly  if  no  ungeometric  Greek  was 
to  enter  Plato's  School  of  Philosophy,  no  so  unchastised  a 
Persian  should  enter  on  the  Kace  of  Persian  Verse,  with  its 
''fatal  Facility  "  of  running  on  long  after  Thought  is  winded ! 
But  Omar  was  not  only  the  single  Mathematician  of  his 
Country's  Poets;  he  was  also  of  that  older  Time  and  stouter 
Temper,  before  the  native  Soul  of  Persia  was  quite  broke  by 
a  foreign  Creed  as  well  as  foreign  Conquest.  Like  his  great 
Predecessor  Pirdusi,  who  was  as  little  of  a  Mystic ;  who 
scorned  to  use  even  a  Word  of  the  very  language  in  which  the 
New  Paith  came  clothed ;  and  who  was  suspected,  not  of 
Omar's  Irreligion  indeed,  but  of  secretly  clinging  to  the 
ancient  Fire-Eeligion  of  Zerdusht,  of  which  so  many  of  the- 
Kings  he  sang  were  Worshippers. 

For  whatever  Eeason,  however,  Omar,  as  before  said,  has 
never  been  popular  in  his  own  Country,  and  therefore  has 
been  but  charily  transmitted  abroad.  The  MSS.  of  his 
Poems,  mutilated  beyond  the  average  Casualties  of  Oriental 
Transcription,  are  so  rare  in  the  East  as  scarce  to  have 
reacht  Westward  at  all,  in  spite  of  all  that  Arms  and  Science 
have  brought  us.  There  is  none  at  the  India  House,  none 
at  the  Bibliotheque  Imperiale  of  Paris.  We  know  but  of  one 
in  England;  No.  140  of  the  Ouseley  MSS.  at  the  Bodleian, 
written  at  Shiraz,  a.d.  1460.  This  contains  but  158  Ea- 
baiyat.  One  in  the  Asiatic  Society's  Library  of  Calcutta, 
(of  which  we  have  a  Copy)  contains  (and  yet  incomplete) 
516,  though  swelled  to  that  by  all  kinds  of  Eepetition  and 


THE    ASTBONOMER-rOET    OF    PERSIA.  XI 

Corruption.  So  Von  Hammer  speaks  of  At«  Copy  as  contain- 
ing about  200,  while  Dr.  Sprenger  catalogues  the  Lucknow 
MS.  at  double  that  Number.  The  Scribes,  too,  of  the  Oxford 
and  Calcutta  MSS.  seem  to  do  their  AVork  under  a  sort  of 
Protest ;  each  beginning  with  a  Tetrastich  (whether  genuine 
or  not)  taken  out  of  its  alphabetic  order ;  the  Oxford  with 
one  of  Apology ;  the  Calcutta  with  one  of  Execration  too 
stupid  for  Omar's,  even  had  Omar  been  stupid  enough  to 
execrate  himself.* 

The  Reviewer,  who  translates  the  foregoing  Particulars  of 
Omar's  Life,  and  some  of  his  Verse  into  Prose,  concludes 
by  comparing  him  with  Lucretius,  both  in  natural  Temper  and 
Genius,  and  as  acted  upon  by  the  Circumstances  in  which  he 
lived.  Both  indeed  men  of  subtle  Intellect  and  high  Imagi- 
nation, instructed  in  Learning  beyond  their  day,  and  of  Hearts 
passionate  for  Truth  and  Justice  ;  who  justly  revolted  froQ\ 
their  Country's  false  Religion,  and  false,  or  foolish,  Devotion 
to  it ;  but  who  yet  fell  short  of  replacing  what  they  subverted 
by  any  such  better  Hope  as  others,  upon  whom  no  better  Faith 
had  dawned,  had  yet  made  a  Law  to  themselves.  Lucretius, 
indeed,  with  such  material  as  Epicurus  furnished,  consoled 
himself  with  the  construction  of  a  Machine  that  needed  no 
Constructor,  and  acting  by  a  Law  that  implied  no  Lawgiver ; 
and  so  composing  himself  into  a  Stoical  rather  than  Epicu- 
rean severity  of  Attitude,  sat  down  to  contemplate  the  me- 
chanical Drama  of  the  Universe  of  which  he  was  part  Actor; 

*  *'  Since  this  Paper  was  \vrittea"  (adds  the  Reviewer  in  a  note)  "we 
have  met  with  aCopy  of  a  very  rare  Edition,  printed  at  Calcutta  in  1836. 
This  contains  438  Tetrastichs,  with  an  Appendix  containing  54  others 
not  found  in  some  MSS." 


XU  OMAE  KHAYYAM, 

himself  and  all  about  him,  (as  in  his  own  sublime  Description 
of  theEoman  Theatre,)  coloured  with  the  lurid  reflex  of  the 
Curtain  that  was  suspended  between  them  and  the  outer 
Sun.  Omar,  more  desperate,  or  more  careless,  of  any  such 
laborious  System  as  resulted  in  nothing  liiure  than  hopeless 
Necessity,  flung  his  own  Genius  and  Learning  with  a  bitter 
jest  into  the  general  Euin  which  their  insufficient  glimpses 
only  served,  to  reveal ;  and,  yielding  his  Senses  to  the  actual 
Rose  and  Vine,  only  diverted  his  thoughts  by  balancing  ideal 
possibilities  of  Fate,  Freewill,  Existence  and 'Annihilation  ; 
with  an  oscillation  that  so  generally  inclined  to  the  negative 
and  lower  side,  as  to  make  such  Stanzas  as  the  following  ex- 
ceptions to  his  general  Philosophy — 

Oh,  if  my  Soul  can  fling  his  Dust  aside, 
And  naked  on  the  Air  of  Heaven  ride, 

Is't  not  a  Shame,  is't  not  a  Shame  for  Him 
So  long  in  this  Clay  Suburb  to  abide ! 

Or  is  that  but  a  Tent,  where  rests  anon 
A  Sultan  to  his  Kingdom  passing  on, 

And  which  the  swarthy  Chamberlain  shall  strike 
Then  when  the  Sultan  rises  to  be  gone? 

With  regard  to  the  present  Translation.  The  original 
Hubaiyat  (as,  missing  an  Arabic  Guttural,  these  Tetrastichs 
are  more  musically  called),  are  independent  Stanzas,  con- 
sisting each  of  four  Lines  of  equal,  though  varied,  Prosody, 
sometimes  all  rhyming,  but  oftener  (as  here  attempted) 
the  third  line  suspending  the  Cadence  by  which  the  last 
atones  with  the  former  Two.  Something  as  in  the  Greek 
Alcaic,  where  the  third  line   seems  to  lift  and  suspend  the 


THE    ASTEONOMEB-POET   OF   PERSIA.  Zlll 

"Wave  that  falls  over  in  the  last.  As  usual  with  such  kind  of 
Oriental  Verse,  the  Rubaiyat  follow  one  another  according 
to  Alphabetic  Ehyme — a  strange  Farrago  of  Grave  and  Gay. 
Those  here  selected  are  strung  into  something  of  an  Eclogue, 
with  perhaps  a  less  than  equal  proportion  of  the  "  Drink  and 
make-merry,"  which  (genuine  or  not)  recurs  over-frequently 
in  the  Original.  For  Lucretian  as  Omar's  Genius  might  be, 
he  cross' d  that  darker  Mood  with  much  of  Oliver  de  Basselin 
Humour.  Any  way,  the  Eesult  is  sad  enough :  saddest  per- 
liaps  when  most  ostentatiously  merry:  any  way,  fitter  to 
move  Sorrow  than  Auger  toward  the  old  Tentmaker,  who, 
after  vainly  endeavouring  to  unshackle  his  Steps  from  Des- 
tiny, and  to  catch  some  authentic  Glimpse  of  Tomorrow,^ 
fell  back  upon  Today  (which  has  out-lasted  so  many  To-/ 
morrows !)  as  the  only  Ground  he  got  to  stand  upon,  how- 
ever momentarily  slipping  from  under  his  Feet. 


RUBAJYAT 


OP 


OMAH  KHAYYAM  OF   NAISHAPUR, 


Awake  !  for  Morning  in  the  Bowl  of  Night 

Has  flung  the  Stone  that  puts  the  Stars  to  Flight  :^ 

And  Lo  !  the  Hunter  of  the  East  has  caught 
The  Sultan's  Turret  in  a  Noose  of  Light. 

II. 

Dreaming  when  Dawn's  Left  Hand  was  in  the  Sky  ^> 
I  heard  a  Voice  within  the  Tavern  cry, 

"Awake,  my  Little  ones,  and  fill  the  Cup 
"  Before  Life's  Liquor  in  its  Cup  be  dry/' 

III. 

And,  as  the  Cock  crew,  those  who  stood  before 
The  Tavern  shouted — '^  Open  then  the  Door ! 

"  You  know  how  little  while  we  have  to  stay, 
''  And,  once  departed,  may  return  no  more.'^ 


2  RUBAIYAT  OF 

IV. 

Now  the  New  Year  ^  reviving  old  Desires, 
The  thoughtful  Soul  to  Solitude  retires. 

Where  the  White  Hand  of  Moses  on  the  Bough 
Puts  out/  and  Jesus  from  the  Ground  suspires. 

V. 

(j  Ii^m  indeed  is  gone  with  all  its  Rose^^ 

1  And  Jamshyd's  Sev'n-ring'd  Cup  where  no  one  knows  ; 

[      But  still  the  Vine  her  ancient  Ruby  yields, 

}  And  still  a  Garden  by  the  Water  blows. 

VI. 

And  David's  Lips  are  lockH ;  but  in  divine 
High  piping  Pehlevi/  with  ''  Wine  !  Wine !  Wine ! 
""  ''  Red  Wine  V — the  Nightingale  cries  to  the  Rose 
That  yellow  Cheek ''  of  her's  to'incarnadine. 

,       VII.  li/^' 

Come,  fill  the  Cup,  and  in  the  Fire  of  Spring 
The  Winter  Garment  of  Repentance  fling  : 
,  The  Bird  of  Time  has  but  a  little  way 
To  fly — and  Lff !  the  Bird  is  on  the  Wing. 

VIII. 

And  look — a  thousand  Blossoms  with  the  Day 
Woke — and  a  thousand  scattered  into  Clay : 

And  this  first  Summer  Month  that  brings  the  Rose 
Shall  take  Jamshyd  and  Kaikobad  away. 


/ 


OMAR  KHAYYAM  OF  NAISHAPUR.  3 

IX. 

But  come  with  old  Khayyam,  and  leave  the  Lot 
Of  Kaikobad  and  Kaikhosru  forgot : 

Let  Rustum  lay  about  him  as  he  will,^ 
Or  Hatim  Tai  cry  Supper — heed  them  not. 

X. 

"With  me  along  some  Strip  of  Herbage  strown 
That  j  ust  divides  the  desert  from  the  sown, 
'        Where  name  of  Slave  and  Sultan  scarce  is  known. 
And  pity  Sultan  Mahmiid  on  his  Throne. 

XI.     » 

Here  with  a  Loaf  of  Bread  beneath  the  Bough,  y 

A  Flask  of  Wine,  a  Book  of  Verse — and  Thou 
/       Beside  me  singing  in  the  Wilderness — 
And  Wilderness  is  Paradise  enow. 

XII. 

"  How  sweet  is  mortal  Sovranty  1" — think  some  : 
Others — ''  How  blest  the  Paradise  to  come  V  \/ 

Ah,  take  the  Cash  in  hand  and  wave  the  Rest ; 
Oh,  the  brave  Music  of  a  distant  Drum  !  ^ 

XIII. 

Look  to  the  Rose  that  blows  about  us — '*  Lo, 
"Laughing,''  she  says,  '^into  the  World  I  blow: 

"  At  once  the  silken  Tassel  of  my  Purse 
"  Tear,  and  its  Treasure  ^°  on  the  Garden  throw.'* 

B 


RUBAIYAT  OF 


XIV. 


The  Worldly  Hope  men  set  their  Hearts  upon 
j  Turns  Ashes — or  it  prospers ;  and  anon, 

Like  Snow  upon  the  Desert^s  dusty  Face 
Lightning  a  little  Hour  or  two — is  gone. 

XV. 

And  those  who  husbanded  the  Golden  Grain^ 
And  those  who  flung  it  to  the  Winds  like  Rain, 

Alike  to  no  such  aureate  Earth  are  turn'd 
As,  buried  once,  Men  want  dug  up  again. 

XVI. 

Think,  in  this  batter'd  Caravanserai 

Whose  Doorways  are  alternate  Night  and  Day, 

How  Sultan  after  Sultan  with  his  Pomp 
Abode  his  Hour  or  two,  and  went  his  way. 

XVII. 

They  say  the  Lion  and  the  Lizard  keep 

The  Courts  where  Jam  shy  d  gloried  and  drank  deep  :  ^^ 

And  Bahram,  that  great  Hunter — the  Wild  Ass 
Stamps  o'er  his  Head,  and  he  lies  fast  asleep. 

XVIII. 

I  sometimes  think  that  never  blows  so  red 
The  Rose  as  where  some  buried  Csesar  bled ; 

That  every  Hyacinth  the  Garden  wears 
Dropt  in  its  Lap  from  some  once  lovely  Head. 


OMAR  KHAYYAM  OF  NAISHAPUR.  t 

XIX. 

And  this  delightful  Herb  whose  tender  Green 
Fledges  the  Kiver's  Lip  on  which  we  lean — 

Ah^  lean  upon  it  lightly  !  for  who  knows 
From  what  once  lovely  Lip  it  springs  unseen ! 

XX.  --^ 

/  Ah,  my  Beloved,  fill  the  Cup  that  clears  y^ 

f    To-day  of  past  Regrets  and  future  Fears — 
]       To-morroxo  ? — Why,  To-morrow  I  may  be 
Myself  with  Yesterday's  Sev'n  Thousand  Years.12 

XXI. 

/    Lo  !  some  we  loved,  the  loveliest  and  best 

That  Time  and  Fate  of  all  their  Vintage  prest, 
\       Have  drunk  their  Cup  a  Round  or  two  before., 
^    And  one  by  one  crept  silently  to  Rest. 

XXII. 

And  we,  that  now  make  merry  in  the  Room 
They  left,  and  Summer  dresses  in  new  Bloom, 

Ourselves  must  we  beneath  the  Couch  of  Earth 
Descend,  ourselves  to  make  a  Couch — for  whom  ? 

XXIII. 

Ah,  make  the  most  of  what  we  yet  may  spend. 
Before  we  too  into  the  Dust  descend ;  / 

Dust' into  Dust,  and  under  Dust,  to  lie, 
Sans  Wine,  sans  Song,  sans  Singer,  and — sans  End  I 


f 


i 


G  RUBAIYAT  OF 

XXIV. 

Alike  for  those  who  for  To-day  prepare. 
And  those  that  after  a  To-morrow  stare,  ^ 

A  Muezzin  from  the  Tower  of  Darkness  cries 
"  Fools  !  your  Reward  is  neither  Here  nor  There  1" 

XXV. 

Why,  all  the  Saints  and  Sages  who  discuss'd 
Of  the  Two  Worlds  so  learnedly,  are  thrust 

Like  foolish  Prophets  forth  ;  their  Words  to  Scorn 
Are  scatter'd,  and  their  Mouths  are  stopt  with  Dust. 

XXVI. 

Oh,  come  with  old  Khayyam,  and  leave  the  Wise 

(To  talk;  one  thing  is  certain,  that  Life  flies; 
One  thing  is  certain,  and  the  Rest  is  Lies  ; 
The  Flower  that  once  has  blown  for  ever  dies. 

XXVII. 

Myself  when  young  did  eagerly  frequent 
Doctor  and  Saint,  and  heard  great  Argument 

About  it  and  about :  but  evermore 
Came  out  by  the  same  Door  as  in  I  went. 

XXVIII. 

With  them  the  Seed  of  Wisdom  did  I  sow, 
I       And  with  my  own  hand  laboured  it  to  grow  : 
^  And  this  was  all  the  Harvest  that  I  reap'd — 

'^  1  came  like  Water,  and  like  Wind  1  go/' 


OMAR  KHAYYAM  OF  NAISHAPUR. 
XXIX.   '' 

Into  this  Universe,  and  why  not  knowing. 
Nor  whence,  like  Water  willy-nilly  flowing : 
And  out  of  it,  as  Wind  along  the  Waste, 
I  know  not  whither ,  willy-nilly  blowing. 

XXX.        ^^ 

What,  without  asking,  hither  hurried  whence  ? 
And,  without  asking,  whither  hurried  hence ! 
Another  and  another  Cup  to  drown       -^ 
The  Memory  of  this  Impertinence  ! 

XXXI. 

Up  from  Earth's  Centre  through  the  Seventh  Gate 
I  rose,  and  on  the  Throne  of  Saturn  sate,^^ 
And  many  Knots  unravel'd  by  the  Road ; 
But  not  the  Knot  of  Human  Death  and  Fate. 

XXXII. 

There  was  a  Door  to  which  I  found  no  Key : 
There  was  a  Veil  past  which  I  could  not  see :    /  / 

Some  little  Talk  awhile  of  Me  and  Thee 
There  seemed — and  then  no  more  of  Thee  and  Me.^"^ 

XXXIII. 

Then  to  the  rolling  Heav'n  itself  I  cried, 
Asking,  "  What  Lamp  had  Destiny  to  guide 

"  Her  little  Children  stumbhng  in  the  Dark  ?" 
And — "  A  blind  Understanding !"  Heav'n  replied. 


RUBAIYAT  OP 


XXXIV. 


)9. 


Then  io  this  earthen  Bowl  did  I  adjourn 
My  Lip  the  secret  Well  of  Life  to  learn  : 

And  Lip  to  Lip  it  murmur'd — '''  While  you  live 
''  Drink  ! — ^^for  once  dead  you  never  shall  return/' 


^  ( 


XXXV, 

I  think  the  Vessel,  that  with  fugitive 
Articulation  answer'd,  once  did  live, 

And  merry-make ;  and  the  cold  Lip  I  kiss'd  ' 
How  many  Kisses  might  it  take— and  give ! 

XXXVI. 

Por  in  the  Market-place,  one  Dusk  of  Day, 
I  watched  the  Potter  thumping  his  wet  Clay  : 

And  with  its  all  obliterated  Tongue 
It  murmur'd — ^'  Gently,  Brother,  gently,  pray  !" 

XXXVII.      \ 

Ah,  fill  the  Cup  : — what  boots  it  to  repeat 
How  Time  is  slipping  underneath  our  Feet : 
Unborn  To-morrow,  and  dead  Yesterday, 
Why  fret  about  them  if  To-day  be  sweet ! 

XXXVIII. 

One  Moment  in  Annihilation's  Waste, 
One  foment,  of  the  Well  of  Life  to  taste — 

The  Stars  are  setting  and  the  Caravan 
Starts  for  the  Dawn  of  Nothing'^— Oh,  make  haste  ! 


OMAR  KHAYYAiM  OF  NAISHAPUR. 
XXXIX. 

How  long,  how  long,  in  infinite  Pursuit 
Of  This  and  That  endeavour  and  dispute  ? 
Better  be  merry  with  the  fruitful  Grape 
Than  sadden  after  none,  or  bitter.  Fruit. 

XL. 

You  know,  my  Friends,  how  long  since  in  my  House 
For  a  new  Marriage  I  did  make  Carouse  : 

Divorced  old  barren  Reason  from  my  Bed, 
And  took  the  Daughter  of  the  Vine  to  Spouse. 

XLI. 

For  "  Is"  and  "  Is-not"  though  with  Rule  and  Line, 
And  '*  Up-and-down'-'  without,  I  could  define,^* 

I  yet  in  all  I  only  cared  to  know. 
Was  never  deep  in  anything  but — ^Wine. 

XLII. 

And  lately,  by  the  Tavern  Door  agape, 

Came  stealing  through  the  Dusk  an  Angel  Shape 

Bearing  a  Vessel  on  his  Shoulder ;  and 
He  bid  me  taste  of  it ;  and  'twas — the  Grape  ! 

XLIII. 

The  Grape  that  can  with  Logic  absolute 

The  Two-and-Seventy  jarring  Sects  ^^  confute  : 

The  subtle  Alchemist  that  in  a  Trice 
Life's  leaden  Metal  into  Gold  transmute.    } 


\ 


10  RUBAIYAT  OF 

XLIV. 

The  mighty  Mahm(jd,  the  victorious  Lord, 
That  all  the  misbelieving  and  black  Horde  ^^ 
Of  Fears  and  Sorrows  that  infest  the  Soul 
Scatters  and  slays  with  his  enchanted  Sword. 

XLV. 

But  leave  the  Wise  to  wrangle,  and  with  me 
The  Quarrel  of  the  Universe  let  be  : 

And,  in  some  corner  of  the  Hubbub  coucht, 
\  Make  Game  of  that  which  makes  as  much  of  Tliee. 

XLVI. 

For  in  and  out,  above,  about,  below, 
^Tis  nothing  but  a  Magic  Shadow-show, 

Play'd  in  a  Box  whose  Candle  is  the  Sun, 
Round  which  we  Phantom  Figures  come  and  goJ^ 

XLVII. 

And  if  the  Wine  you  drink,  the  Lip  you  press, 
End  in  the  Nothing  all  Things  end  in — Yes — 

Then  fancy  while  Thou  art.  Thou  art  but  what 
Thou  shalt  be — Nothing — Thou  shalt  not  be  less. 

XLVIII. 

While  the  Rose  blows  along  the  River  Brink, 
W^ith  old  Khayyam  the  Ruby  Vintage  drink  : 

And  when  the  Angel  with  his  darker  Draught 
Draws  up  to  Thee — take  that,  and  do  not  shrink. 


/ 


i 


OMAR  KHAYYAM  OF  NAISHAPUR.  U 

XLIX. 

'Tis  all  a  Chequer-board  of  Nights  and  Days 
Where  Destiny  with  Men  for  Pieces  plays : 

Hither  and  thither  moves,  and  mates,  and  slays, 
And  one  by  one  back  in  the  Closet  lays. 

L.  1^' 

The  Ball  no  Question  makes  of  Ayes  and  Noes, 
But  Right  or  Left  as  strikes  the  Player  goes; 

And  He  that  toss'd  Thee  down  into  the  Field, 
He  knows  about  it  all — He  knows — HE  knows  !  ^^ 

LI. 

The  Moving  Finger  writes ;  and,  having  writ, 
Moves  on :  nor  all  thy  Piety  nor  Wit 

Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  Line, 
Nor  all  thy  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it. 

LII. 

And  that  inverted  Bowl  we  call  The  Sky, 
Whereunder  crawling  coop't  we  live  and  die. 

Lift  not  thy  hands  to  It  for  help — for  It 
Rolls  impotently  on  as  Thou  or  I. 

LIII. 

With  Earth's  first  Clay  They  did  the  Last  Man's  knead, 
And  then  of  the  Last  Harvest  sow'd  the  Seed  : 

Yea,  the  first  Morning  of  Creation  wrote 
AVhat  the  Last  Dawn  of  Reckoning  shall  read. 


12  RUBAIYAT  OF 

LIV. 

I  tell  Thee  this — When,  starting  from  the  Goal, 
Over  the  shoulders  of  the  flaming  Foal 

Of  Heav'n  Parwin  and  Mushtara  they  flung,  ^i 
In  my  predestined  Plot  of  Dust  and  Soul 

LV. 

The  Vine  had  struck  a  Fibre ;  which  about 
If  clings  my  Being— let  the  Siifi  flout ; 

Of  my  Base  Metal  may  be  filed  a  Key, 
That  shall  unlock  the  Door  he  howls  without. 

LVI. 

And  this  I  know :  whether  the  one  True  Light, 
Kindle  to  Love,  or  Wrathconsume  me  quite, 

One  Glimpse  of  It  within  the  Tavern  caught 
Better  than  in  the  Temple  lost  outright. 

LVII.    « 

Oh  Thou,  who  didst  with  Pitfall  and  with  Gin 
/    Beset  the  Road  I  was  to  wander  in, 
j       Thou  wilt  not  with  Predestination  round 
Enmesh  me,  and  impute  my  Fall  to  Sin  ? 

LVIII. 

t    Oh,  Thou,  who  Man  of  baser  Earth  didst  make, 
And  who  with  Eden  didst  devise  the  Snake ; 

For  all  the  Sin  wherewith  the  Face  of  Man 
Is  blacken'd,  Man's  Forgiveness  give — and  take  ! 


OMAR  KHAYYAM  OF  NAISHAPUR.  13 


KUZA-NAMA. 

LIX. 

Listen  again.     One  Evening  at  the  Close 
Of  Ramazan,  ere  the  better  Moon  arose, 
In  that  old  Potter^s  Shop  I  stood  alone 
"With  the  clay  Population  round  in  Rows. 

LX. 

And,  strange  to  tell,  among  that  Earthen  Lot 
Some  could  articulate,  while  others  not : 

And  suddenly  one  more  impatient  cried — 
*'  Who  is  the  Potter,  pray,  and  who  the  Pot?'' 

LXl. 

Then  said  another — "  Surely  not  in  vain 

*'  My  Substance  from  the  common  Earth  was  ta'en^ 

"  That  He  who  subtly  wrought  me  into  Shape 
"  Should  stamp  me  back  to  common  Earth  again." 

LXII. 

Another  said — '*  Why,  ne'er  a  peevish  Boy, 

''  Would  break  the  Bowl  from  which  he  drank  in  Joy  ;     f 

"  Shall  He  that  made  the  Vessel  in  pure  Love  . 
"  And  Fansy,  in  an  after  Rage  destroy  T' 


14  RUBAIYAT  OF 

LXIII. 

None  answer'd  this ;  but  after  Silence  spake 
A  Vessel  of  a  more  ungainly  Make  : 

"  They  sneer  at  me  for  leaning  all  awry ; 
"  What !  did  the  Hand  then  of  the  Potter  shake?'' 

LXIV. 

Said  one — "  Folks  of  a  surly  Tapster  tell, 

*'  And  daub  his  Visage  with  the  Smoke  of  Hell; 

"  They  talk  of  some  strict  Testing  of  us — Pish  ! 
"  He's  a  Good  Fellow,  and  'twill  all  be  well/' 

LXV. 

Then  said  another  with  a  long-drawn  Sigh, 
'*  My  Clay  with  long  oblivion  is  gone  dry  : 

"  But,  fill  me  with  the  old  familiar  Juice, 
*^Methinks  I  might  recover  by-and-bye  !" 

LXVI. 

So  while  the  Vessels  one  by  one  were  speaking, 
One  spied  the  little  Crescent  all  were  seeking : 

And  then  they  jogg'd  each  other,  "  Brother  !  Brother  ! 
^'  Hark  to  the  Porter's  Shoulder-knot  a-creaking  !" 


OMAR  KHAYYAM  OF  NAISHAPUR.  15 

LXVII. 

Ah,  with  the  Grape  my  fading  Life  provide, 
And  wash  my  Body  whence  the  Life  has  died. 
And  in  a  Windingsheet  of  Vine-leaf  wrapt, 
So  bury  me  by  some  sweet  Garden-side. 

LXVIII. 

That  ev'n  my  buried  Ashes  such  a  Snare 
Of  Perfume  shall  fling  up  into  the  Air, 

As  not  a  True  Believer  passing  by 
But  shall  be  overtaken  unaware. 

LXIX. 

Indeed  the  Idols  I  have  loved  so  long 

Have  done  my  Credit  in  Men's  Eye  much  wrong : 

Have  drown'd  my  Honour  in  a  shallow  Cup, 
And  sold  my  Reputation  for  a  Song. 

LXX. 

Indeed,  indeed.  Repentance  oft  before 
I  swore— but  was  I  sober  when  I  swore? 

And  then  and  then  came  Spring,  and  Rose-in-hand 
My  thread-bare  Penitence  apieces  tore. 

LXXI. 

And  much  as  Wine  has  play'd  tha  Infidel, 
And  robb'd  me  of  my  Robe  of  Honour — well, 

I  often  wonder  what  the  Vintners  buy 
One  half  so  precious  as  the  Goods  they  sell. 


IG  RUBAIYAT. 

LXXII. 

Alas,  that  Spring  should  vanish  with  the  Rose  ! 
That  Youth's  sweet-scented  Manuscript  should  close 

The  Nightingale  that  in  the  Branches  sang, 
Ah,  whence,  and  whither  flown  again,  who  knows ! 

/^  LXXIII, 

Ah  Love  !  could  thou  and  I  with  Fate  conspire 
To  grasp  this  sorry  Scheme  of  Things  entire, 
Would  not  we  shatter  it  to  bits — and  then 
Re-mould  it  nearer  to  the  Heart's  Desire  ! 

LXXIV.     ^-  ' 

Ah,  Moon  of  my  Delight  who  know'st  no  wane. 
The  Moon  of  Heaven  is  rising  once  again  : 

How  oft  hereafter  rising  shall  she  look 
Through  this  same  Garden  after  me — in  vain  ! 

LXXV.     \^y^^ 

And  when  Thyself  with  shining  Foot  shall  pass 
Among  the  Guests  Star-scatter'd  on  the  Grass, 

And  in  thy  joyous  Errand  reach  the  Spot 
Where  I  made  one — turn  down  an  empty  Glass  ! 


TAMAM  SHUD. 


NOTES. 


*  Flinging  a  Stone  into  the  Cup  was  the  Signal  for  "  To 
Horse !"  in  the  Desert. 

^  The '^  False  Dawn;'**  SuhJd  Khdzib,  a  transient  Light 
on  the  Horizon  about  an  hour  before  the  Suhhi  sddhik,  or 
True  Dawn  ;  a  well  known  Phenomenon  in  the  East.  The 
Persians  call  the  Morning  Gray,  or  Dusk,  '*  Wolf -and- Sheep- 
While.'^     *'  Almost  at  odds  with,  which  is  which." 

^  New  Year.  Begiuuing  with  the  Vernal  Equinox,  it 
must  be  remembered ;  and  (howsoever  the  old  Solar  Year  is 
practically  superseded  by  the  clumsy  Lunar  Year  that  dates 
from  the  Mohammedan  Hijra)  still  commemorated  by  a 
Festival  that  is  said  to  have  been  appointed  by  the  very 
Jamshyd  whom  Omar  so  often  talks  of,  and  whose  yearly 
Calendar  he  helped  to  rectify. 

"  The  sudden  approach  and-  rapid  advance  of  the  Spring,'* 
(says  a  late  Traveller  in  Persia)  •'  are  very  striking.  Before 
the  Snow  is  well  off  the  Ground,  the  Trees  burst  into  Blos- 
som, and  the  Flowers  start  from  the  Soil.  At  Now  Booz 
{their  New  Year's  Day)  the  Snow  was  lying  in  patches  on. 
the  Hills  and  in  the  shaded  Vallies,  while  the  Fruit-trees  in 
the  Garden  were  budding  beautifully,  and  green  Plants  and 
Flowers  springing  upon  the  Plains  on  every  side — 

*  And  on  old  Hyem's  Chin  and  icy  Crown 

*  An  odorous  Chaplet  of  sweet  Summer  buds 
'  Is,  as  in  mockery,  set — ' — 


> 


18  NOTES. 

Among  the  Plants  newly  appear'd  I  recognized  some  old 
Acquaintances  I  had  not  seen  for  many  a  Year :  among  these, 
two  varieties  of  the  Thistle ;  a  coarse  species  of  the  Daisy, 
like  the  Horse-gowan;  red  and  white  Clover ;  the  Dock ;  the 
blue  Corn-flower ;  and  that  vulgar  Herb  the  Dandelion  rear- 
ing its  yellow  crest  on  the  Banks  of  the  "Watercourses."  The 
Nightingale  was  not  yet  heard,  for  the  Eose  was  not 
yet  blown :  but  an  almost  identical  Blackbird  and  "Wood- 
pecker helped  to  make  up  something  of  a  North-country 
Spring. 

*  Exodus  iv.  6 ;  where  Moses  draws  forth  his  Hand — not, 
according  to  the  Persians,  '*  leprous  as  SnoWy''*—\)\xt  white  as 
our  May-Blossom  in  Spring  perhaps  !  According  to  them 
also  the  Healing  Power  of  Jesus  resided  in  his.  Breath. 

5  Iram,  planted  by  King  Schedad,  and  now  sunk  some- 
where in  the  Sands  of  Arabia.  Jamshyd's  Seven-ring'd  Cup 
was  typical  of  the  Seven  Heavens,  7  Planets,  7  Seas,  &c. 
and  was  a  Divinwg  Cuf. 

^  Fehlevi,  the  old  Heroic  SansJcii  of  Persia.  Hafiz  also 
speaks  of  the  Nightingale's  Pehleviy  which  did  not  change 
with  the  People's. 

7  I  am  not  sure  if  this  refers  to  the  Eed  Eose  looking 
sickly,  or  the  Yellow  Eose  that  ought  to  be  Eed ;  Eed, 
"White,  and  Yellow  Eoses  all  common  in  Persia. 

8  Eustum,  the  "  Hercules"  of  Persia,  whose  exploits  are 
among  the  most  celebrated  in  the  Shah-nama.  Hatim  Tai, 
a  well-known  Type  of  Oriental  Generosity. 

*  A  Drum — beaten  outside  a  Palace. 
10  That  is,  the  Eose's  Golden  Centre. 


NOTES.  1^ 

ii  Persepolis  :  call'd  also  Takhfi  Jamshi/d—TK&  Theone 
OF  Jamshyd,  *'  King-Splendid^'"'  of  the  mythical  Peeshdddian 
Dynasty,  and  supposed  (with  Shah-nama  Authority)  to 
have  been  founded  and  built  by  him,  though  others  refer  it 
to  the  Work  of  the  G-enie  King,  Jan  Ibn  Jann,  who  also 
built  the  Pyramids  before  the  time  of  Adam.  It  is  also 
called  CfheJil-minar — Forty-coVmnn ;  which  is  Persian,  pro- 
bably, for  Column-countless;  the  Hall  they  adorned  or 
supported  with  their  Lotus  Base  and  taurine  Capital 
indicating  double  that  Number,  though  now  counted  down 
to  less  than  half  by  Earthquake  and  other  Inroad.  By 
whomsoever  built,  unquestionably  the  Monument  of  a  long 
extinguished  Dynasty  and  Mythology ;  its  Halls,  Chambers 
and  Galleries,  inscribed  with  Arrow-head  Characters,  and 
sculptured  with  colossal,  wing'd,  half  human  Figures  like 
those  of  Nimroud ;  Processions  of  Priests  and  Warriors 
— (doubtful  if  any  where  a  Woman) — and  Kings  sitting  on 
Thrones  or  in  Chariots,  Staff  or  Lotus-flower  in  hand,  and  the 
FerooJier — Symbol  of  Existence — with  his  wing'd  Grlobe, 
common  also  to  Assyria  and  iEgypt—over  their  heads.  All 
this,  together  with  Aqueduct  and  Cistern,  and  other  Appur- 
tenance of  a  Eoyal  Palace,  upon  a  Terrace-platform,  ascended 
by  a  double  Plight  of  Stairs  that  may  be  gallop' d  up,  and 
cut  out  of  and  into  the  Eock-side  of  the  KoTii  Bdhmety 
Mountain  of  Mercy,  where  the  old  Eire-worshiping  Sove- 
reigns are  buried,  and  overlooking  the  Plain  of  Merdasht. 

Persiansi^  like  some  other  People,  it  seems,  love  to 
write  their  own  Names,  with  sometimes  a  Verse  or  two,  on 
.their  Country's  Monuments.  Mr.  Binning  (from  whose 
sensible  Travels  the  foregoing  Account  is  mainly  condens't) 

c 


20  NOTES. 

found  several  such  in  Persepolis ;  iu  one  Place  a  fine  Line 
of  Hafiz  :  in  another  **an  original,  no  doubt,'*  he  says,  "by 
no  great  Poet,"  however  "right  in  his  Sentiment."  The 
"Words  somehow  looked  to  us,  and  the  "halting  metre'* 
sounded,  familiar ;  and  on  looking  back  at  last  among  the 
500  Eubayiat  of  the  Calcutta  Omar  MS. — there  it  is  :  old 
Omar  quoted  by  one  of  his  Countrymen,  and  here  turned 
into  hasty  Ehyme,  at  any  rate — 

"  This  Palace  that  its  Top  to  Heaven  threw. 
And  Kings  their  Forehead  on  its  Threshold  drew— 

I  saw  a  Ring-dove  sitting  there  alone. 
And  '  Coo,  Coo,  Coo,'  she  cried,  and  '  Coo,  Coo,  Coo.'  '* 

So  as  it  seems  the  Persian  speaks  the  English  Eing-dove's 
Fehlevii  which  is  also  articulate  Persian  for  "  "Where  ?'* 

Baheam  Gue — Bahr&m  of  the  Wild  Ass <,  from  his  Fame 
in  hunting  it— a  Sassanian  Sovereign,  had  also  his  Seven 
Castles  (Uke  the  King  of  Bohemia!)  each  of  a  different  Colour ; 
each  with  a  Eoyal  Mistress  within,  side ;  each  of  whom 
recounts  to  Babram  a  Eomance,  according  to  one  of  the 
most  famous  Poems  of  Persia,  written  by  Amir  Khusraw  : 
these  Sevens  also  figuring  (according  to  Eastern  Mysticism) 
the  Seven  Heavens,  and  perhaps  the  Book  itself  that 
Eighth,  into  which  the  mystical  Seven  transcend,  and 
within  which  they  revolve.  The  Euius  of  Three  of  these 
Towers  are  yet  shown  by  the  Peasantry ;  as  also  the  Swamp 
in  which  Bahram  sunk,  like  the  Master  of  Eavenswood, 
while  pursuing  his  Gur. 

12  A  Thousand  Years  to  each  Planet. 

^3  Saturn,  Lord  of  the  Seventh  Heaven. 

1*  A  Laugh  at  his  Mathematics  perhaps. 


NOTES.  21 

"^5  Me  and  Thee  ;  that  is,  some  Dividual  Existence  or 
Personality  apart  from  tbe  "Whole. 

^6  The  Caravan  travelling  by  Night  (after  their  'New 
Year  s  Day  of  the  Vernal  Equinox)  by  command  of  Mo- 
hammed, I  believe. 

17  The  72  Sects  into  which  Islamism  so  soon  split. 

IS  This  alludes  to  Mahmud's  Conquest  of  India  and  its 
swarthy  Idolaters. 

19  Fanusi  JcJiiydl,  a  Magic-lanthorn  still  used  in  India ; 
the  cylindrical  Interior  being  painted  with  various  Figures, 
and  so  lightly  poised  and  ventilated  as  to  revolve  round  the 
Candle  lighted  within. 

20  A  very  mysterious  Line  in  the  original ; 

IT  danad  u  danad  u  danad  u  —-^ 
breaking  off  something  like  our  Wood-pigeon*8  Note,  which 
she  is  said  to  take  up  just  where  she  left  off. 

21  Parwin  and  Mushtara — The  Pleiads  and  Jupiter. 

23  At  the  Close  of  the  Fasting  Month,  Ramazan  (which 
makes  the  Musulman  unhealthy  and  unamiable),  the  first 
Glimpse  of  the  New  Moon  (who  rules  their  Division  of  the 
Year)  is  looked  for  with  the  utmost  Anxiety,  and  hailed 
with  all  Acclamation.  Then  it  is  that  the  Porter's  Knot 
may  be  heard  toward  the  Cellar,  perhaps.  Old  Omar  has 
elsewhere  a  pretty  Quatrain  about  this  same  Moon — 

"  Be  of  Good  Cheer— the  sullen  Month  will  die, 
"  And  a  young  Moon  requite  us  by  and  bye : 

"  Look  how  the  Old  one  meagre,  bent,  and  wan 
"  With  Age  and  Fast,  is  fainting  from  the  Sky!'* 

FINIS. 


itle  of  the  rare  and  ramous  first  ediuc^n 


RUBilYAT 


OMAR    KHAYYAM. 

THE  ASTRONOMER-POET  OF.PERSIA. 


Crait^lateH  twtft  ^xi^\i%  ^ttU. 


LONJDON: 
BEBNABB   QU AEITOH, 

CA^;'^"^^  m^^^^t  LEIOESTEB  SQTJAEE. 

18G9. 


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